With A Little Luck
by Anonymous Skrtle
Summary: The boys have finally fulfilled their dreams... but how did it all start? How did Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos become best friends? With a little luck and tons of love, that's how. Full of adorableness and angst! pre-BTR- Please read and review!
1. Daddy

_**Chapter 1**_

35 year old Kevin Knight was 30,000 feet up in the air, controlling one of the largest planes on American Airlines. The plane had just taken off, and Kevin was in a good mood.

He was going home today; the plane was headed from Cheyenne, Wyoming, for St. Paul, Minnesota. He'd finally be able to see his beautiful wife, Jennifer, and his adorable 4 year old son, Kendall. It had been a few months since he last saw them.

Kendall had been sending him cards with hand drawn pictures on them, usually writing things like "I luv u, daddy" on them. Kevin kept them all in his suitcase like precious gold. He kept every single one of them.

Kevin was a pilot. It earned him an adequate amount of money that he was able to send home to his wife and son. They were by no means poor, and Kevin was planning to buy Kendall a Transformers set on Christmas that winter.

He was able to visit them at home for a few months every year, and he treasured those few months greatly. Being a pilot had always been his dream, but his family was also a priority in his life.

He tried to balance the two together a little, but he found that he was spending less and less time with his family. He was thinking of changing his job, but as for now, he was still a pilot.

He remembered what his son, Kendall, had told him once. _"Daddy, I wanna fly a plane just like you!"_

That's what Kendall had told him when he was about 3. Kevin was pleased, but he didn't want Kendall to pursue something that would take away much of his time that he could be spending with his family.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when the plane swerved right a little. Kevin immediately knew what it was. There was air turbulence. Kevin called over his announcer, Jason, and told him to tell the passengers to put on their seatbelts.

_All passengers please stay seated; we are currently experiencing some air turbulence._

Kevin was used to it. Almost half the time he took off, the plane shook a little. It was just the air outside, the velocity and pressure of it, nothing else. He always got it back under control.

But this time, something felt different. It felt like he couldn't even control the plane, no matter how hard he twisted the direction knob. He tried to turn the plane left, but it didn't obey.

The plane started swerving down, and Kevin had no control over it. The controls on the panel just would not cooperate.

Then, Kevin understood. Engine failure. That was why he couldn't control the plane anymore. The engine was failing. He had heard about it happening before. The engine failed, the plane crashed.

It always crashed . There had not been one case where engine failure resulted in a safe flight.

He had no time to think about why it was happening or what would happen after; he looked down and knew that the plane, flight 451B, was going to crash.

He clicked on his announcement button and grunted out a few words that would change his life, and his passengers' lives, forever.

_Passengers, prepare to crash._

Kevin Knight could do nothing but watch as the plane went down, down, and down into the ground below, thinking of his beautiful wife and his adorable son. Thinking of Jennifer's beautiful blue eyes and her red hair, Kendall's big green eyes and his messy blonde hair.

He couldn't hear the passengers' screams, couldn't hear his own heart pumping, couldn't hear the engine failing.

All he could hear was a little boy's voice, whispering in his ear.

_I love you, daddy._

_line line line_

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

31 year old Jennifer Knight blinked her drowsy eyes open, silently cursing whoever had called her so early in the morning.

It was July, and the sun was already halfway up even though it was only 5am. Jennifer stretched and put on her slippers, walking quickly towards the phone in the kitchen.

"Hello?" She asked tiredly.

"Hi, is this Kevin Knight's family?" A male voice asked gently into the phone.

"Um, yes, this is her wife, Jennifer. Is something wrong?" Kevin's flight was probably being delayed again; it happened many times.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am, but Kevin Knight has been involved in a plane crash. He is currently in the Wyoming State Hospital under immediate care."

Jennifer froze, her heart pumping loudly. "What… what? No, no, no… you've got it wrong, he couldn't have crashed, he _couldn't have!"_ She cried into the phone, falling onto her knees.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but it would be best if you got here as soon as possible." The man told her firmly. Jennifer felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

But she stood up and took a deep breath. Kevin wasn't dead; he was just in the hospital. "Alright, sir, thank you very much. I'll be there as soon as I can."

The man thanked her and hung up. Jennifer sat down on her leather couch, her hands shaking. What was she going to do? She still had a 4 year old son in bed. What was she going to tell Kendall?

She had to leave now. She had to be there for Kevin. But she didn't want Kendall to be there. She wouldn't be strong enough, and she didn't want Kendall to see something so horrible happen to his daddy.

Kendall admired his dad; seeing him unconscious and injured, lying in a hospital bed, would surely crush him. He was only 4, turning 5 in November.

Then she remembered; the new folks next door also had a kid Kendall's age. They could take care of him for a while. They were nice people, and Jennifer was friends with the boy's mother, Ashley.

Jennifer called her up with shaking hands, trying to calm herself down. She didn't want to break down in front of Kendall or Ashley. She had to stay strong.

"Jennifer? It's 5 in the morning." Ashley pointed out, letting out a yawn. Before, Jennifer would have laughed, but today, she just couldn't. For obvious reasons.

"Ashley… I-It's Kevin. He's in the hospital in Wyoming." Even though Jennifer already knew, saying the tragic news out loud seemed to make it even more painful.

Ashley gasped. "Oh my goodness… I'm so sorry, Jennifer. Are you guys going to visit him now?"

"Yeah, but just me. I… I don't want Kendall to see his father in the hospital like that… Can he, well, can he stay over at your house for a while?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh, yes, of course! I'm really sorry, Jennifer, and I really hope the best for you two. And I promise I'll take care of Kendall. How long will you be there?" Jennifer was so grateful she had Ashley as her friend.

"Well, it's going to take about 12 hours to get there… probably a few days at least… seeing how things go." Jennifer responded quietly. Both women knew that the trip would be cut short if Kevin didn't make it.

"Alright, that's no problem. You can send him here right now, Jennifer. God bless you, alright?" Jennifer hung up and went upstairs to wake Kendall up.

Should she tell him the truth, or should she just not say anything? Kendall would be absolutely heartbroken when he heard the news. He'd want to come with her for sure, and that couldn't happen.

But Jennifer knew Kendall would be even more upset if she lied to him about his own father. Kendall had been excited for weeks for his dad to come home. He'd even made him a present.

She would tell him the truth. Kendall had always been very honest, and she should repay him for that by being honest back.

"Kendall, sweetie?" Jennifer didn't want to wake her sweet boy up, but Kendall had already blinked open his green eyes.

"Mommy? What's wrong? It's still dark." Kendall whined, sitting up. Jennifer hugged him.

"Sweetie, mommy has to leave for a while. Daddy… his plane crashed, sweetie. He's in the hospital."

Kendall's eyes filled with tears. "What? Daddy's in da hospital?"

Jennifer almost started crying at his heartbroken voice. "Yes, sweetie, but it's going to be okay. I'm going to send you to our new neighbor's house." She explained gently.

Kendall widened his eyes. "No! I'm going too! I _have_ to see daddy, mommy!" He buried his face in his hands and started crying. Jennifer picked him up into her arms.

"Oh, sweetie… I'm so sorry, but you're still too small. You'll have a fun time with the new boy, okay? I'm sure he's nice. I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

But Kendall still shook his head, and was still crying when they got onto the car after Jennifer had packed her things.

"I-I don't want daddy ta _die…_" Kendall sobbed over and over again. Jennifer could do nothing but try and comfort him.

"Sweetie, neither do I… but you've gotta stay strong for daddy, alright? He loves you so much, and when he comes back, you can go play hockey with him again, alright?"

Kendall sobbed the whole way to Ashley's house, which was about a minute. Jennifer picked him up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Kendall, sweetie, it's okay. Don't cry, baby. Mommy will be back in a few days, and Mommy will bring daddy with me, okay? Stay here with the new boy's mommy and she'll take care of you, okay?"

Kendall sniffled, looking up at Jennifer with those big green eyes that reminded her so much of Kevin. "T-tell daddy I love him…" He whispered. Jennifer nodded and promised him that she would.

"Mommy will call you every single day, okay? Mommy will call you when she gets to the hospital, okay? Don't worry, sweetie, everything's gonna be okay." Jennifer assured Kendall. But she didn't even believe it herself.

"O-Okay." Kendall said in a broken voice. Jennifer rang the doorbell. She heard hurried footsteps, and then she saw Ashley open the door quickly. She smiled at them and pulled Jennifer in for a quick hug.

Then she kneeled down and gave Kendall a kiss on the cheek. "Hello, sweetie. You want to come in? I made you chocolate chip cookies." Kendall gave his mommy a big hug and hesitantly stepped into the unfamiliar house.

"Bye, mommy… Please come back soon." He whimpered. Jennifer kissed him.

"I promise, sweetie. You just stay here and be good for mommy, alright?" Kendall nodded, and then Jennifer was off.

As she watched Kendall wave goodbye, his beautiful green eyes filled to the brim with tears, and thought about Kevin, lying in the hospital, practically dead, tears slid down her face.

Everything _had_ to be okay.

**A/N- NEW STORY! I know, I know, I have 2 other ones going on… but this just seemed like a cool thing to do, now that the BTR show's over (sad face). It's kind of like a tribute to Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, and Carlos Garcia… I'm so sad. And yes, I know that I already have a story like this... but this one's going to be more accurate (I hope), and hopefully more awesome!**

**Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought! Next chapter will be Kendall and this mysterious (haha) new boy and maybe a little about Jennifer and Kevin. Please tell me what you thought of this!**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	2. Best Friend

_**Chapter 2**_

Kendall hated this.

He hated that his mommy had to leave and that his daddy was hurt and in the hospital, and maybe he would _die…_

Kendall felt tears in his eyes at the thought.

He didn't want his daddy to die, he really didn't. His daddy had promised him he would be home before Christmas to buy him whatever he wanted. Kendall had even made his daddy a gift to welcome him home.

"Kendall, sweetie, are you thirsty?" Kendall looked up at the pretty woman who had taken him in while his mommy was away.

He sniffled. "N-no. I just want my daddy…" He whimpered, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

The lady sat down next to him. "Sweetie, I know it's hard, but it's going to be okay. Your daddy is going to be fine." She assured Kendall.

Kendall didn't know how she knew, since Kendall had never even seen her before, and she probably didn't know his daddy, but he believed her anyways.

Before he could say anything else, though, he heard another voice like his. "Mommy? Why are you up sho early?"

Kendall looked up as the pretty lady stood up and went over to hug the little boy who had spoken.

The boy was about the same height as Kendall, which was pretty tall, his mommy had told him, but he was a little chubbier and his hair was brown. His eyes were this weird mix of colors that made them look pretty.

The lady smiled. "Oh, sweetie… remember our next door neighbor? Kendall?" The small boy nodded, glancing at Kendall cautiously.

"His daddy's in the hospital, honey, and he's staying over for a few days while his mommy goes to check on him. Is that okay, honey?"

The boy glanced over at Kendall again; but this time, his eyes were softer, more sympathetic towards Kendall. Kendall stared at him right back.

"Kendall, sweetie, do you want to play with James? James, sweetie, can you take Kendall to the basement and share your Transformers toys with him?" She asked sweetly. The chubby boy immediately shook his head.

"No! Those are mine! I wuv the Transformers! He's gonna get it all dirty and stuff!" He argued stubbornly.

Kendall stood up from his seat. "You're mean! They're probably all dirty anyways! So it doesn't matter!" He retorted. Kendall had always been headstrong, stubborn, not wanting to listen to other people.

The James boy looked down. He looked sad. "I'm sorry… you can come pway with me." He said softly, not meeting Kendall's eyes.

Kendall was confused, but he shrugged and followed James into the basement. The chubby boy seemed happy again, and so Kendall decided he wasn't so bad after all. He liked the Transformers, right? He must be okay.

James and Kendall sat down on the carpeted floor in the spacious basement. James grinned at him.

"I'm James. James Diamond. Like the rock that's worth a whole lotta money!" James bragged.

Kendall smirked back. "Well, _I'm_ Kendall Knight. Like the knight in shining armor that _always_ saves the princesses!" He added proudly.

James snorted. "Yeah, but diamonds are prettier!"

"Well, knights are braver!"

"Well, diamonds are… they're just better!" James retorted, finding no other word to use.

Kendall laughed. "Ha! See? You don't know what to say. Cuz knights _are _better!"

James pouted. "Fine! Well, you can't pway with my toys! Ha!" He said indignantly.

"Fine! I don't care!" In a split second, the two boys walked away from each other, and Kendall sat in the corner, pouting to himself.

First his daddy was in the hospital, now this mean boy who didn't let him play with his Transformers toys…

Kendall didn't even notice he was crying until James came up to him. "Why are you crying?" He asked curiously.

Kendall sniffled loudly. "I-I don't want my daddy to die…" He cried softly.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrap around him. James was hugging him.

"It's all-wight, you're daddy's probably fine. Here, you can pway with my toys if you want… which one's your favorwit?" James asked, holding the five Transformer toys out to Kendall.

Kendall wiped his tears away. "Th-the blue one." He finally admitted. Blue had always been his favorite color.

James smiled cheekily and handed him the blue one. "Here, I like the purple one. You wanna pway battle?"

Kendall nodded enthusiastically, and soon, the two boys who were just fighting before were giggling and laughing alongside each other, their worries forgotten.

_line line line_

Kendall was sure James was his best friend.

He was funny, liked the Transformers, nice, and awesome. Everything Kendall wanted in his best friend.

James liked him too. At least he thought he did.

After they played battle, the two boys ran upstairs and ate pancakes. The pretty lady, who Kendall realized was James's mommy, even put chocolate chips in them.

"Hey, you wanna ride bikes?" Kendall asked through mouthfuls of pancake. James grinned and agreed, and the two headed out together with James's mommy after they finished eating.

Kendall realized something was wrong when James refused to get on his bike. Kendall was riding around on his four-wheeler, watching James refuse to get on.

"Come on, James, get on. You can do it." His mommy chided him gently. James shook his head.

Kendall rode up to them, getting off and looking at James. "Why aren't you riding, James?"

James looked down; there were tears in his eyes. "I-I'm scared I'm gonna fall." He whispered, his face red.

Kendall laughed. James was such a scaredy cat. "You're not gonna fall off, not with 4 wheels, baby!" He insulted James.

James's tears spilled over. "I-I'm notta baby… M-Mommy, I wanna go home!" He cried, burying his face into his mommy's legs.

Kendall suddenly felt mean for calling James a baby. Kendall _had_ been the one crying in the basement, and James hadn't called him a baby.

He wrapped his arms around James just as he had for him in the basement. "I'm sorry, James… You're not a baby. And I'll show you how to not fall off. It's easy!" He offered. James looked up, smiling a little,

"Y-you will?" He asked timidly. Kendall nodded confidently.

"Yeah, come on!"

Kendall showed James how to balance his body and stuff and taught him how to turn. Soon, both boys were racing each other down the driveway. Kendall won half the time, James won the other half.

When they got off and were walking home, James gave Kendall a big smile. "Thanks, Kendall. You're my best friend." He grinned.

Kendall smiled back. "You're mine too!"

The two laughed and giggled the whole way home.

_line line line_

"Mommy? Is daddy okay?" Kendall asked quietly. His mommy had called to see how Kendall was doing, and now Kendall was talking with her. It was already nighttime, and it was getting dark outside.

His mommy sighed. She sounded really tired. "Sweetie, he's asleep right now, he's fine. Don't worry. How are you doing over there, Kendall?"

Kendall grinned. "It's awesome, mommy! James is my new best friend!" He told her excitedly.

"That's great, Kendall! I'm glad you like him. Now you be good for mommy, okay? Mommy will be back before you know it." Jennifer assured her son.

Kendall smiled even though his mommy couldn't see him. "Okay, mommy! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, my love." Kendall put the phone down.

"Miss Diamond? I'm finished." He called the pretty lady over. Ashley smiled at him and put the phone back in its place.

"Is everything okay, Kendall?"

Kendall grinned at her. "Yep, my mommy says daddy's fine and she'll be back really soon!" He told her excitedly.

Ashley smiled. "That's great, sweetie. Now, do you want to go sleep with James? He has an extra bed in his room."

Kendall let out a small yawn. "Yeah, I'm kinda tired." Ashley laughed and carried Kendall to James's room. The chubby boy was already in bed, looking through the pictures of a book.

"James, sweetie, Kendall's going to sleep with you tonight, alright?" James looked up and grinned.

"Yay! Kendall, we can dance and sing and we can play Pin the Tail on the Donkey and-"

Ashley shook her head, amused. "James, buddy, it's already 8. It's time to got to bed. Do you boys want a bedtime story?"

Kendall glanced at James hesitantly. His mommy always gave him a bedtime story… But what if James thought it was only for babies? Kendall didn't want James to think he was a baby.

But James nodded eagerly. "Yeah, can we read Dr. Seuss?" He begged. Kendall turned to her, nodding.

'Yeah, I _love_ Dr. Seuss!" He added, his worries forgotten.

Ashley sat down, a book already prepared in her hands. "Alright, boys, settle down. I'll read the book about the fishies, okay?" The two boys cheered.

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish…"

_line line line_

James didn't know what that crying sound was for a few seconds.

Then he remembered that his new best friend, Kendall was sleeping in that otherwise empty bed next to his for the night.

But then he wondered why Kendall was crying. Again.

The boy sat up, rubbing his eyes. "K-Kendall?" He called out softly, afraid that the other boys would start full out sobbing.

Kendall sniffled a little. "I-I had a bad dream…" He choked out, sobs breaking out from his mouth.

James cautiously stepped out of his bed and walked next to Kendall's. "Was is 'bout your daddy?" Kendall was brave, he wouldn't cry about anything else, right?

Kendall nodded timidly. "Yeah… I-I dreamed dat he was dead." He whispered.

James wanted to cry too. That was a horrible dream to have. If _his_ daddy ever died… He couldn't even imagine it.

"Do you want me ta get my mommy?" James asked shyly. His mommy always made him feel better when he was scared.

"Yeah…"

James ran out the door, flicking on the lights in the upstairs hallway. He pushed open the door to his parents' rooms. He ran over to his mommy, shaking her shoulder forcefully.

"Mommy, mommy, wake up!" He whispered urgently.

"What is it, James?" His mommy replied groggily.

"Kendall's scared. He had a bad dweam his daddy died." James told her in a serious whispering tone.

His mommy immediately got up and put on her robe. "Come on, James. Let's go see." James followed his mommy back into his own room.

"Kendall, sweetie, what's wrong?" His mommy sat down next to Kendall, who snuggled into her arms.

"I-I dreamed my daddy died…" He cried, tears falling down his cheeks and onto his mommy's robe. James stared at them, wide-eyed.

"Oh, Kendall… it was just a dream, my baby. Your daddy's still in the hospital, and he's going to be fine." Ashley assured him. James wasn't sure about it, though. If Kendall had dreamed it… didn't dreams come true? Even if they were bad?

He didn't say anything, though. He didn't want Kendall to cry anymore. It made him want to cry too.

"A-are you sure?" Kendall got out.

James's mommy planted a kiss on Kendall's forehead. "I promise, sweetie. Now do you want to go back to sleep?" Kendall nodded, and Ashley tucked him into bed.

Then she bent down and kissed James's on the cheek. "Thanks for getting me, James. You go back to sleep, okay? You'll be alright?" James nodded, smiling a little.

"Goodnight, mommy."

"Goodnight, baby."

When she left, James could still hear Kendall sniffling a little. "Are... are you all-wight?"

Kendall sniffled. "K-kinda. I'm tired."

"Okay… goodnight, Kendall."

"Goodnight, James."

**A/N- Wow… this is literally the cutest thing I've ever written… I hope you guys feel the same way. Aren't they just the cutest things?**

**And what do you think is going to happen with Kendall's daddy (see, I'm still talking all baby talk)? Please review this chapter and tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, anything…**

**And guys and girls, thank you SO much for all the reviews I got last time, all the alerts and all the favorites! I love you all! Keep it up!**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	3. Too Fast

_**Chapter 3**_

"Kendall? Kendall, sweetie?" Kendall whimpered a little, turning his back on whoever was calling him out of his dreams. He was dreaming about getting this super cool Transformers set from his daddy that Christmas. His daddy was home in his dream.

"Kendall, your mommy's calling." Kendall opened his eyes wide. His mommy? Was daddy okay? Was he awake yet?

He sat up, eyes wide, grabbing the phone from James's mommy. "Mommy? Is daddy awake? Is he alright?" He asked loudly. James's mom smiled down sadly at him.

His mommy made some sort of noise. It sounded like she was crying. Kendall's heart stopped. His mommy had _never_ cried before.

"Kendall… my baby… daddy's dead. He died last night. I'm sorry, sweetie…" She tried to muffle her sobs, but Kendall heard them clear as day.

He grabbed onto the phone tightly, tears in his eyes. He had barely processed his mommy's words when his mommy started speaking again.

"Kendall, honey, I'll be back in a few hours. They're holding the funeral next week…" She said quietly.

Kendall felt tears streaming down his face. He barely heard his sobs over the loud thumping sound. He didn't know where it was coming from. But it was so loud, so intense, so horrifying.

"No! _No, mommy!_ Daddy can't be dead! He _can't!" _Kendall screamed, punching his small fists into his pillow angrily. "Nonononono!" He repeated over and over, sobbing and choking on his tears.

Ashley stared down at Kendall, her heart throbbing for him. He was only 4 and a half… this wasn't supposed to be happening. Kids weren't supposed to feel this kind of loss, this kind of pain, this kind of_ grief,_ at such a young age.

"I'm sorry, Kendall… I'm so sorry." Kendall cried harder at the sound of his mother's voice. Ashley took the phone from the sobbing boy.

"Jennifer, I'm sorry. I'll take good care of him until you get home. Take as long as you, alright?" She told her gently.

Jennifer sniffled. "Thank you so much, Ashley… you don't know what this means to us. And… just so you know, you're invited to the funeral… James too." Her voice cracked a little, and Ashley could tell she had been crying.

"Alright, you take care, alright?" Jennifer promised to take care of herself and the two women hung up.

"Mommy?" Ashley turned around and saw James sitting up, confused and a little shocked at the sight. She went over to James and wrapped her arms around him.

"K-Kendall's daddy died?" James whispered softly, his eyes sympathetic and sad. Ashley nodded grimly. Her son was too young to witness this.

She'd thought James would be scared, but the small boy stood up and crawled over next to Kendall. He pulled Kendall into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Kendall… he's not in pain anymore, though, wight?" He asked innocently. Ashley wanted to cry, watching the scene.

Kendall ceased his crying a little. "I-I guess… But I wanted him to come home… I-I'll never see him again, James…" He resumed his sobbing. But James didn't seem fazed. He just held onto Kendall tighter.

"It's alright. You're still my best fwiend, and you still haf your mommy, and my mommy… and my daddy. I… I can share my daddy wif you if you want." James offered. Ashley felt tears in her eyes. He was so innocent. They were both so innocent.

And innocent boys weren't supposed to see death. Not yet. But these two boys had been thrown into this cruel world too early, but they seemed to be taking it on well. They seemed to be fighting back a little.

They found a brighter way of looking at things, something that adults were not able to do. They found a bright light in the midst of the darkness that surrounded them.

These two boys had each other, and sometimes, that was all that mattered.

Kendall sniffled. His crying stopped. "Alright. I-I still have mommy, anyways. And I know d-daddy will never forget me. And I won't forget him."

James smiled. "Hey, you wanna pway Candyland?" He asked. Kendall, who's sobs had become occasional hiccups, nodded sadly.

"I guess…" He whispered. James grinned and took Kendall's hand.

"Come on! I'll even get my daddy to pway!" He pulled Kendall out of the room by his wrist. Ashley was left on the bed, her heart aching with pity for the Knight family, especially their young boy.

A boy who would never grow up without a father. A boy who would have to learn to fend for himself while taking care of his mother at the same time.

A boy who would have to grow up too fast.

_line line line_

Kendall tugged at his tuxedo uncomfortably. He hated wearing suits. He hated getting baths. He hated having to brush his hair.

But most of all, he hated going to funerals.

He'd never been to one before, actually… this was his first one and he just knew for sure that he hated funerals.

Absolutely, positively, hated them.

The past week had been spent with tears and sobs. His mommy cried all the time, _he_ cried all the time, other people who came to visit and gave them food cried. It was just really sad…

But he had James through it all. The two would go up into James's tree house and play guess the number and tic tac toe. Everything would be alright again up there.

"Hey, Kendall." Kendall turned around. James was here. He looked just as uncomfortable in his black tux as Kendall felt. Kendall grinned at him.

"Hi, James! These things are _so_ stupid." He pointed out.

James shrugged. "They make me look handsome, though. That's what my mommy said." He grinned proudly. Kendall laughed. Only James was able to make him laugh in situations like these.

"Are… are you weally going up dere?" James asked quietly. pointing his chubby finger at the stage. A few hundred people would show up to his daddy's funeral. His daddy was a likable person.

Kendall nodded. "Yep. I'm gonna say a whole thing about my daddy… I miss him, James." He admitted sadly.

James nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you've still got wots of people who wuv you." He pointed out. Kendall shrugged.

"Yeah, I know… but I loved daddy so much." He whispered, tears n his eyes.

That was when his mother came in. "Kendall, sweetie? Are you ready?" She kneeled down to pick Kendall up. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She asked gently.

Kendall sniffled. "I-I want daddy again, mommy…" He whimpered, James following behind the two family members awkwardly.

Jennifer kissed Kendall on the cheek. "I know, sweetie… but it'll be okay. Mommy will always be here for you, alright? And now you can go up there and show everyone how awesome daddy was… can you do that, honey?"

Kendall stared his mother in the eyes, but not before glancing at James, who smiled back at him. "Yeah. I can. Let's go, mommy."

Kendall and his mommy walked up onto the stage, and everyone got quiet. They sang some sad song, some old guy said a prayer, and then it was time for Kendall.

The blonde haired boy stepped onto the small stool that was put for him. A microphone was placed in front of him. He looked out into the crowd, and then looked away because there were way too many people.

"Hello, I'm Kendall Knight. I'm four and a half. My daddy was the most awesomest person I knew. He always bought me stuff, and he played games with me… and he always took me on his plane rides. He always made me happy, and I'll miss him forever. I love you, daddy…"

He stepped down, tears in his eyes again, but looked up when he heard clapping. Everyone, all few hundred of the audience, were clapping for him. Some people even stood up, which Kendall didn't get.

But he felt overwhelmed. He ran over to his mommy and hugged her legs real tight. But he felt like he'd done something really good.

Somehow, it felt like he had told his daddy that he loved him. Like his father had been sitting down there this whole time, grinning at his son.

His mommy did some talking thing, some other people came up, everyone cried for a while, and soon, after another prayer, the funeral was over.

Kendall bounced on over to James. "You were awesome!" James squealed. Kendall beamed at him.

A million people congratulated him afterwards, told him how great he was, but only James's comment stuck with him.

When the two boys got home, they went up to their only place of solitude. James's tree house.

James had suggested it. Kendall had agreed. James had said, "Let's be best friends forever, Kendall."

And Kendall had nodded. "Yeah, but we've gotta, like, do something to make it real. Like a promise." He added.

James looked around thoughtfully. "Ooh, maybe we can put our names on da wood!" He exclaimed, pointing at the wood of the tree.

Kendall nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Like, K and J. Since I don't really know how to spell my whole name."

James grinned, and the two grabbed some sharp sticks.

Kendall went first. Then James. When they were done, they were happy.

Because both of them had found their best friend.

"Best friends forever?"

"Best friends forever."

_line line line_

Kendall still missed his daddy, he didn't think he'd ever stop missing him, but now everything seemed to be happier.

People no longer came by and cried with his mommy, and his mommy didn't cry anymore either. And he didn't cry ever. Only sometimes.

They were back to their old routine, and Kendall thought maybe, maybe he could let his daddy go. He would always be there, in the back of Kendall's mind, but now there were other things that occupied more of his mind.

For example, it was now August, and school was starting soon. The two boys were going into Kindergarten. They were finally entering what they thought of as "real big boy school", since everyone knew preschool and daycare were just for babies.

But him and James were big boys now. Kindergarten was the start of being a big kid. They got to go to the elementary school with all the other big kids, all the way up to 5th grade. The two boys were so excited, they bought all their school supplies the day the list came out.

When James and Kendall had found out that they were in the same PM kindergarten class, they were elated. They had jumped up and down, grinning like little girls.

Kindergarten was going to be _awesome._

Kendall and James had spent the whole day reading off the class list (well, more like asking their mommies to read for them) and laughing at the funny names.

The funniest one on there, at least to the two almost 5 year old boys, was a girl named Jenny Tinkler. They laughed at that one for quite a while.

"Tinkler! That's so funny!" James had giggled, Kendall giggling along with him. No other name had been funnier than that one.

Yep, kindergarten was going to be awesome.

**A/N- Hello again… aw, his dad died… but you all knew Kendall doesn't have a dad on the show. But I just think he died… I don't know why. I wish they had done something on Kendall's dad on the show.**

**Anyways, tell me what you all thought about this, please review and tell me what you want to see in this story and stuff! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter!**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


	4. Kindergarten

_**Chapter 4**_

Jennifer Knight and Ashley Diamond thought that their boys would be more… well, intimidated by the prospect of kindergarten and a class of kids they didn't know.

They were wrong.

Kendall and James were elated beyond belief on the car ride there. They barely said "goodbye" before running off into the crowd of kids, laughing and giggling and running around in their new classroom.

The two moms shrugged at each other and left. Kids will be kids, right?

Kendall and James had been excited for kindergarten all morning long. They wished kindergarten could be all day just like 1st grade and 2nd grade and 3rd grade and all those other bigger grades…

"I can't believe we're in kindergarten!" James squealed, bouncing around a little. Kendall nodded along.

"Yeah, that's where all the big kids go." He agreed smugly.

The two boys looked around the classroom until a nice looking lady told everyone to be quiet. "That's probably the teacher." Kendall whispered to James

"She's pretty." James admitted. They both giggled at that.

"Hello, class, I am Mrs. Kim. I'm going to be your teacher this year!" She stated cheerfully. James and Kendall grinned at each other.

"Alright, boys and girls, when I call you name, please sit down where I tell you to." She started listing names alphabetically. There were 4 tables of 4.

James was devastated when he wasn't in the same table as Kendall. Other than himself, there were three other boys. Kendall was in the table next to him, and James was delighted when he saw that he sat back to back with Kendall.

Needless to say, Kendall was excited, too. They could whisper to each other during class and stuff.

"This is awesome!" James squealed. Kendall nodded. Then he stopped.

"Hey, that's Jenny Tinkler." He whispered, pointing at a girl whose back was turned away from them. The two boys giggled.

Then she turned around, and James and Kendall were stuck with their mouths open. This girl was the prettiest girl they'd ever seen!

"Woah… she's even prettier than the teacher!" James whispered.

"Yeah, I know! Maybe I'll marry her!" Kendall boasted.

James shook his head. "No, _I_ will!" He argued. The two went back and forth for a while before the teacher quieted them down.

"Alright, boys and girls. I want you all, one by one, to stand up and introduce yourselves. First say your name and then how old you are, and then tell us something cool about yourself."

The first person in the alphabet stood up. James watched as, one by one, the boys and girls introduced themselves.

When it was James turn, he had to admit he was a little nervous. What if the kids thought he was weird and stupid or tall or anything?

"I-I'm James Diamond. I'm four, but almost 5. And… I love the Transformers!" After saying all that, James didn't feel nervous at all. The kids seemed to like him. There was nothing to worry about.

He could barely remember any of the names mentioned, and everyone seemed pretty normal. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until the tiny boy sitting next to him stood up. He had this wide grin on his face, and he had a… helmet on his head. James had only seen a few of those things before in his life… and he thought they were only for sports and riding bikes and stuff.

Not for school. Who would wear a helmet to school?

"Hi! I'm Carwos Garcia! I'm fwee, but I'm goin'na be four in a few days. And… and my daddy's a powice offisha!" He sat down, grinning. James glanced at Kendall. This kid talked _weird._ Kendall seemed to agree with him.

_And _the kid was only three. Even though he was turning four soon, James was turning four in September. Which was only a few weeks away. Two weeks.

As if the kid wasn't weird enough. James counted off the things in his head. He was wearing a helmet. He talked funny. He was only three. He was the smallest kid in class, even smaller than the girls.

That was a lot of things.

When Kendall stood up, he wasn't nervous at all. He puffed his chest out, and James could feel the confidence radiating off him, though he didn't know what 'confidence' was at the time. James just knew that Kendall was sure of himself.

"I'm Kendall Knight, I'm 4, and my favorite sport is hockey!" He sat down, smirking a little.

James hadn't known Kendall's favorite sport was hockey. He had never told him… James was a little offended at that. Why wouldn't Kendall tell his best friend what his favorite sport was?

He glared at Kendall a little, who stared at him with a confused look on his face. "What's da matter?" He whispered.

James pouted. "You never told me that you liked hockey."

Kendall looked away. "Sorry… m-my daddy loved hockey." And that was all that needed to be said. When it came to Kendall's father, James never pushed the subject.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry." James turned around, jumping a little when the weird kid, Carlos, grinned in his face.

"Hi! I'm Carwos! Wush yur name?" He asked excitedly. James shrunk back a little, a little freaked out.

"Um, James." This kid was so weird… _and_ he was kind of annoying. He grinned toothily and his eyes brightened.

"I wuv da twansformas just wike yew!" He told James cheerfully. James didn't think he could stop moving around.

"Uh, yeah, that's cool." He responded slowly. He wished this kid would just leave him alone already.

Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kendall. "Hey, leave him alone. You're freaking him out." He told Carlos. The helmeted boy looked sad for a moment, then brightened up and gave them a grin.

"Okay!" He turned around and started interrogating the unfortunate kid next to him. James gave Kendall a grateful smile.

"You wanna play on the swings at recess?" Kendall asked James. James nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! I call first!"

_line line line_

"How was your first day, boys?" Jennifer Knight asked James and Kendall, who were bouncing around in the backseat, talking about school.

"Awesome!" Kendall responded.

James nodded. 'Yeah! I'm gonna marry Jenny Tinkler!" He announced.

Jennifer laughed. "Um, are you sure about that, James?" She asked with an amused smile.

James nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! She's the prettiest girl in the world!" He told Jennifer.

Jennifer laughed. "Really?" She asked. James nodded again.

"Well, what if there are even prettier girls that you haven't seen yet?" Jennifer asked James.

James looked confused. "That's hard… well, I'll go look for prettier girls and then I'll decide."

Jennifer laughed. These boys were so adorable. "So, did you meet any new people?"

Kendall shrugged. "Yeah… kinda. But we didn't make friends with them." He added quickly.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Weren't they nice?"

James shook his head quickly. "No! The kid sitting next to me was _so _annoying!"

Kendall nodded. "Yeah, he freaked James out. And he talks funny."

Jennifer sighed. "Boys, you only just met him. Maybe you can be friends with him. What's his name?" She thought it was time the two boys made some new friends. They were spending _way_ too much time with each other.

"I… I think it's Carlos. But he said Carwos." James said, confused.

"Yeah, cuz he can't say it right!" Kendall agreed.

"Well, he sounds sweet. Why don't we invite him over for a play date one day?" Mrs. Knight suggested, earning loud groans and shouts of complaint from the boys.

"No!"

"Mommy! You can't do that!"

"Yeah! We're _best_ friends!"

"And that kid's weird!"

"_And_ he's annoying!"

Jennifer sighed, smiling a little. "Alright, alright, boys! I won't invite him over! But… just try and make some new friends, alright? You'll see. All the kids are pretty nice."

_line line line_

His mommy was wrong.

Kendall had always thought his mommy was right about everything, but she was wrong about what she said yesterday on the car after school.

The kids in kindergarten weren't all nice. He thought they were alright the first day, but then he didn't really talk to any of them. When Kendall went to school the next day, a boy made fun of him because he had big eyebrows.

"Haha! Your eyebrows make you look like a caterpillar!" He laughed. Kendall turned around, not sure who the boy was talking to. He felt hurt after he realized it was him. The mean boy wasn't as tall as James or Kendall, but he was fat and strong-looking, so Kendall didn't try to hit him or say anything back.

He didn't even feel angry… he just felt sad. His daddy had always used to tell him his eyebrows were awesome… but now his daddy was dead and everyone hated his eyebrows… They were just big and stupid and ugly.

Kendall almost wanted to cry. But when James came up to him and asked what was wrong, he shook his head. He wasn't going to cry. Not on the second day of kindergarten.

That was for babies. And he, Kendall Knight, was _not_ a baby anymore.

"He… he made fun of my eyebrows." Kendall whispered. "M-my daddy used to say they were awesome…" He sniffled sadly.

James clapped Kendall on the shoulder. "Don't listen to him! He's a big fat Meanie! Yur daddy's right! I think your eyebrows are the best!" He said confidently.

Kendall sniffled again. "You really think so?"

James nodded, grinning. "Yep! Hey, look! I lost my toof yesterday!" He grinned with his teeth, showing Kendall the small gap on the bottom row of his teeth. "It was kinda scary, cuz I thought my teeth were falling out like an old person… but den my mommy told me it would grow back. And the ones that grow back are gonna be prettier!" James bragged.

Kendall immediately forgot about the mean boy who had made fun of him. "Really? I haven't lost a tooth yet! You're so lucky…" He said admiringly. "Wait. Then… why don't old people's teeth grow back?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. Cuz dere too old?" He guessed. Kendall laughed.

"That makes sense, I guess." He admitted, smiling. James always made him laugh. That's why he was his best friend.

"Are you… are you sure my eyebrows aren't weird?" Kendall asked hesitantly after a few minutes had passed, still a little insecure about his fuzzy eyebrows.

James nodded. "Yep. They're way better than mine! But my hair's better than yours!" He added pointedly. Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, James." He giggled a little.

James leaned over towards Kendall so nobody else could hear him. "And at least you're not as weird as that kid who sits next to me." He whispered, causing both of them to giggle.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not as weird as him."

**A/N- Sorry about the slow update… I'm kinda having writer's block right now… but trying to get over it. And I've been kinda busy the last couple of days... with fun stuff, though. And school is starting in a week and a half! NNOOOOO! AND I just realized I screwed up their ages… cuz you're supposed to be 5 in kindergarten, not 4. **

**So let's just suppose there are 2 years of kindergarten in this story, alright? Cuz I heard some states have that… so let's just pretend they've got 2 years of kindergarten. Sounds good? Thanks.**

**Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


	5. Hockey

_**Chapter 5**_

Kendall loved his daddy. And his daddy loved hockey, so it was only right that Kendall loved hockey too.

That's why he and James were sitting on his couch, watching the Minnesota Wilds playing against the Los Angeles Kings. The Wilds were up by 2, and Kendall was cheering the loudest.

James stared up at Kendall with his big hazel eyes. "Why are you always so excited when they win?" He asked innocently.

Kendall sat back down, calming down a little. "Cuz I _love_ the Minnesota Wilds! Me and my daddy used to watch 'em all the time." He added, a little quieter this time.

James nodded in understanding. "Oh… that's cool. Why don't you play it?"

It had been a month since kindergarten had started. Every day was basically the same thing, but Kendall and James still loved it. They loved kindergarten; their teacher was nice, Jenny Tinkler was still beautiful, and they were still best friends.

James had turned 5 a week ago, and had a lost another tooth. Kendall was still 4 and hadn't lost any teeth yet. He moped around for days, trying to pull his teeth out. He even went up to a lady at the store and asked if they sold "teeth puller outers".

Kendall widened his eyes. "Me? Play hockey?" He asked with wide eyes.

James grinned. "Yep. If you love it so much, why don't you play it?" He repeated his question.

Kendall looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah… you're right, James! Maybe I should play it! I'll go ask my mommy!" Before James could even process the words, Kendall had jumped up and ran into the kitchen, where Jennifer was cooking dinner.

"Mommy! I have the _greatest_ idea!" Kendall shouted excitedly. Jennifer looked down and smiled at her son.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"I'm gonna play hockey! And then I'm gonna be like number 4 on the Wilds!" Kendall nodded like he was completely sure this was going to happen.

Mrs. Knight put down her ladle. "Kendall… you want to play hockey? Are you sure?" She'd seen the Wilds' hockey games, and hockey seemed a little rough. With all the checking into the boards and stuff.

"Yes! Please, mommy? _Please?_" He begged, not even noticing when James trailed in, curious as to what was going on.

Jennifer wanted to say no… but his son looked so happy, like he really wanted this… he was only 4, and he already had an interest. That was good. And his father…

His father would have wanted his only child to play his favorite sport. Kevin had always loved hockey…

And that was it. Jennifer craved. "Alright, honey… I'll sign you up. I heard there's a really good hockey program for kids at that ice rink we pass when we go to school." She thought aloud to herself.

Kendall jumped up and down. "Yay! James, guess what? Mommy says I can go play hockey!" He calmed down for a moment, still grinning. "Hey! Maybe you can come too!"

James took a step back. "No. No way! You hafta wear a helmet for hockey and I hate wearing things on my head! It makes my hair bad." He argued.

Kendall pouted. "Aw… please? We can be da best on the team! We can be, like, super hockey players!"

James considered that for a moment. "Okay… I guess I can wash my when we get home… Alright. Let's be super hockey players!"

Jennifer sighed.

_line line line_

Playing hockey was such hard work.

They had to buy skates, gear, and hockey sticks to use during practice. They had to drive down to the ice rink to sign up.

Kendall wasn't even sure if he wanted to play hockey anymore. It was such a hassle. But then he saw the ice rink and he immediately changed his mind.

The rink was _huge._ Kendall had never actually been to one, only seen them on TV, but it was _huge._ The place practically sparkled from the floor of white ice inside the rink, and Kendall stared at it with huge eyes.

And then there were the hockey players. There were a bunch of big kids skating around faster than a rocket. They hit the puck around so fast Kendall had trouble catching up with them.

"Wow…" James breathed out, mouth agape. Kendall just nodded in amazement.

"Mommy? When are we starting? Can we start today? Can we?" Kendall asked excitedly. He couldn't wait to start hockey.

Jennifer shook her head. "Sorry, baby, not until tomorrow. That's the first day… Oh, and Kendall?" Kendall bounced to his mommy.

"Yeah?"

"I invited Carlos to sign up too. I just met his mommy at the store the other day, and she says he would love to play hockey too!" She told Kendall.

Kendall and James looked at each other, their faces falling. "Mommy!" Kendall whined. "Why did you do that?"

"Sweetie, Carlos is a nice boy. You should make friends with him." She suggested gently. Kendall and James shook their heads simultaneously.

"No way! He's weird!" James said.

"Yeah! And annoying!" Kendall added. Every time his mommy asked about Carlos, that was him and James's response.

"Boys, you can't know until you try and be his friend." Jennifer pointed out patiently.

"Nope. Nopey nope nope. That's not happening." Kendall said stubbornly, sticking out his chin. James nodded indignantly.

Jennifer sighed, giving it up. She would see how they first day of mini mite hockey went. Maybe they could become friends after all.

"Okay, boys, whatever you say. Hockey starts tomorrow." The two boys cheered at that, completely forgetting about Carlos.

Kendall turned to James. "We're gonna be the best super duper hockey players in Minnesota, right?" He asked excitedly.

James nodded. "We'll be da best in da whole _world!"_

_line line line_

The next day at kindergarten, Kendall and James could barely keep their excitement at bay. They went up to almost every kid and told them they were going to be the best hockey players in the world.

When they finally sat down, grinning, James felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned around, expecting it to be Kendall. He didn't really have anyone else that he wanted to talk to.

But it wasn't Kendall. It was the last person James wanted to see right now.

"Hey, Carlos." He grumbled, trying to turn away.

But the smaller boy scooted his chair closer to James. "My mommy shez dat I'm gonna pway hockey wif you guys!" He told James, bouncing up and down. No matter how excited James seemed to be feeling, Carlos was always more excited.

"Yeah, that's cool…" James lied, hoping Kendall would notice already and tell the boy to leave him alone.

"I… I never pwayed hockey bee-fore." Carlos started. "Do you know how ta?"

"No."

"Do you wike it?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, leave my best friend alone!" James turned towards the source of the voice gratefully. Kendall glared at Carlos, making himself look as tough as a blonde-haired green-eyed 4 year old boy can look.

Carlos shrunk back a little. "I-I'm sowwy… I wasn't being mean ta him." He defended himself innocently.

Kendall stuck his tongue out. "I don't care what you were doin'. James is my friend and we both think you're annoying. So don't talk to us anymore."

Carlos stared at James with big brown eyes, wondering innocently if James actually thought he was annoying too.

James nodded, agreeing with Kendall. "Yeah. I don't like talking with you."

For a second, Carlos seemed like he was about to cry. But then he just looked at them sadly and turned away, that little sparkle in his eyes gone.

Kendall and James grinned at each other. The bell had rung, which meant that school was over for the day.

It was time for hockey.

_line line line_

Even though it looked cool, it sure was hard getting hockey skates on. Kendall's mommy helped Kendall and then James slowly get their skates on.

"Mommy! This hurts my feet!" Kendall complained.

Jennifer sighed. "Sorry, honey, but you'll get used to it." Kendall and James both pouted, but said not more.

It was _hockey._ Nothing could go wrong.

Kendall found that he was wrong yet again when he stepped onto the ice.

He couldn't skate. Not even a little. It looked so easy when he watched the bigger kids do it... But now that he was actually on the ice, he wasn't really so sure anymore.

James was apparently facing the same problem, because he cowered a little behind Kendall's mommy. "I can't skate. I'm gonna fall and it's gonna hurt." He said quietly, fearfully.

Kendall was about to say something similar, but that was when two big boys went up to them and said hi. "Can't skate? Come on, me and Brian here can show you."

With gentle hands, Brian and the other guy led James and Kendall away from Jennifer. The two boys waved goodbye cautiously, careful not to slip.

Skating was actually not bad. Kendall and James were fast learners, and soon, they were able to wobble across the ice without falling.

"This is fun!" James squealed. Kendall nodded.

"Yeah, it's gonna be even funner when we use our sticks." He added.

After everyone learned how to at least stand up on the ice, a few men stood in front of the boys and told them to line up the sandwich way.

James and Kendall made sure to stand next to each other, both super duper excited to start their first hockey lesson.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Mr. Peterson, and today we will all learn how to skate. That's the first thing you gotta know when you're a hockey player." He told them. Kendall looked around. There were about 15 other boys there.

He was going to beat them all. Him and James were gonna be the best.

Mr. Peterson started teaching them how to glide and stuff on the ice, and, after quite a few falls, Kendall and James were staring to get the hang of it.

"Falling doesn't even hurt!" Kendall bragged. "And I only fell 4 times!"

"I only fell 3!" James added. Kendall shook his head.

"No! You fell, like, a million times!"

"That's not even possible. A million is too big. I only fell 3 times!"

"No! You fell 10 times!"

"Boys, line up!" Kendall and James stuck their tongues out at each other playfully and lined up.

"Today was awesome boys! You all know how to skate now. When you boys come back tomorrow, bring your stick, cuz we're going to start learning how to play hockey!" The little boys cheered a little, getting off the ice one by one.

Kendall hopped off the ice after James. "Can you believe it? We're gonna start playing _real_ hockey tomorrow!" Kendall told James.

James grinned. "It's gonna be the awesomest thing ever!" Without a warning, he suddenly fell forward, yelping in surprise.

He fell to the floor with a thump, almost knocking down a few other boys in the process. "Ow!" He cried, his hand having caught on something sharp. He looked down; there was a cut on his hand.

But that wasn't all; when James looked up, Kendall was glaring at the boy who had caused James's injurious fall. Carlos.

Of course. Kendall and James had purposefully ignored Carlos during their first lesson. Was Carlos getting back at them for ignoring him?

"You pushed him over, stupid!" Kendall yelled, shoving Carlos a little. The smaller boy stumbled back and almost tripped over.

"I-I'm sowwy! I didn't mean ta! Weally! I'm sowwy, James!" Carlos cried desperately, obviously scared Kendall would push him again.

James pushed himself back up, watching as Kendall shoved Carlos again. This time the smaller boy did fall. He fell right on his butt, and Kendall laughed. "That's what you get for pushing my friend!"

"Kendall Donald Knight!" Kendall's smirk turned into a scared expression when the turned towards his mommy.

"Mommy?"

"Kendall, do not push other boys! It's mean. I want you to say sorry to Carlos right now." She pointed at the other boy, who was sitting on the floor, tears in his eyes. Kendall frowned.

"But he pushed James over!" He argued.

Jennifer shook her head. "That doesn't mean you can push him back. Did he apologize?" Kendall nodded reluctantly. "Then he didn't mean to. Kendall, say sorry." She demanded.

Kendall sighed a little, walking up to Carlos, who had finally gotten up with the help of Jennifer. "I'm sorry for pushing you over."

Carlos sniffled a little. "I-It's all-wight."

Jennifer nodded, satisfied, and pulled Kendall away, leaving Carlos to his worried mommy. "Kendall, don't you ever hurt someone like that again, alright? That's being very mean, sweetie." She scolded him.

James followed along. "Mrs. Knight? My… my hand hurts." He stuck out his chubby hand. Mrs. Knight winced a little.

"Aw, sweetie, let's go get a band-aid on that, okay?" She led him away, leaving Kendall alone to mask in his fury.

"Stupid stupid Carlos. I will _never_ be friends with him."

**A/N- So yeah… Carlos isn't off to a very good start. You'll see what happens soon, though… and as for Logan, there's still quite a while before he shows up. Sorry. But in the show, it says that he joins them in 3****rd**** grade. So yeah.**

**Anyways, please tell me what you thought about this! BTR's on vacation right now… I really hope they're coming back soon to continue BTR, Awesomest Band Ever.**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


	6. Life Goes On

_**Chapter 5**_

Kendall loved hockey.

He loved it so much he didn't even care that annoying Carlos was there with him, always popping up out of nowhere and being as annoying as ever.

They had learned how to play _hockey,_ not just skating around but like _real_ stick hitting, puck flying hockey. And it was _awesome._

It was the 4th time at practice when it happened. Kendall and James were the super duper hockey players of all time. They were the best on the team. At least they thought they were.

They were playing a fake game. No checking, no violence. Just skating around and trying to score when they could. Kendall was sure he was going to win, since Coach put him as center.

And everyone knew center was the best spot there was on a hockey team. James was right winger, which was the second best place. Everyone knew that, too.

Kendall was about to score his first goal when it happened. He was so close, and his stick was in the air, just about to swing and score their team's first goal.

But when he swung, he felt nothing there. At first, he thought he had missed, which would be embarrassing, but then he looked around and saw his puck on the other side of the rink.

And annoying Carlos had it. Somehow, he had gotten in fast enough to steal from him, and since everyone was still processing what had happened, the smallest boy on the team hit the puck softly into the net.

Carlos grinned as his teammates came up to him and cheered with him. The score was now 1-0. And Kendall and James's team were losing.

All because of that Carlos.

Kendall's face was red, from the humiliation from getting his puck stolen from the worst player on the team and from the physical exertion.

But maybe Carlos _wasn't_ the worst on the team. He just seemed like he was because he couldn't hit the puck very hard at all, and he fell the most. _And_ Coach made him defense, which meant he was bad. It was obvious.

But Carlos was the smallest boy on the team by quite a bit. Kendall remembered Coach telling them that smaller people got around the rink easier and could steal easier. It wasn't fair.

Wasn't that cheating, using your small size to your advantage? Carlos was cheating. That's why he had scored and not Kendall.

James came up to Kendall. "Sorry." He said, grinning a little, a small hole on the bottom row of his teeth.

Kendall was angry. "Stupid Carlos. He cheated."

James was confused. "How? He didn't cheat… but he's really good." He admitted. Sure, Carlos was annoying… but he sure was good.

Kendall was even angrier. He hated that someone else was better at hockey than him, and that James, his best friend, had admitted Carlos was good.

Their team lost 4-1. And Kendall hadn't even scored the one goal their team scored. But at least stupid Carlos didn't approach him again.

After practice, he was just grabbing his bag and about to exit the locker room when someone's loud voice popped into his ear. "Hi, Kendo! Sowwy 'bout stee'win da puck fwum yew."

Carlos's mispronunciation of words never ceased to make Kendall smirk at him in ridicule, and this was not an exception. But this time, his smirk only lasted for a half a second. Maybe even less than that.

"Yeah, whatever." He mumbled. "Cheater." He added softly. Carlos didn't hear it, though, and Kendall wanted to keep it that way.

He absolutely hated Carlos. He was such a show off, he was a baby (he had cried when he scraped his knee on the ice), and he was annoying. He talked weird, like he didn't know how to, and he was always super loud.

Kendall glanced at James, who watched Carlos walk away in silence. "Isn't he annoying?" Kendall said.

James shrugged. "I don't know." Kendall widened his eyes. James had _always_ agreed with him about Carlos.

"What do you mean?"

James shrugged. "He's annoying… but he's _good._ He's like… the super duper hockey player of all the super duper hockey players." He said, smiling at his genius description.

Kendall's jaw fell. Did James just call Carlos… the ultimate super duper hockey player? "James! _We're_ supposed ta be that! Not him!" He argued, jealousy making him even angrier than ever.

Carlos wasn't even that good. He had just stole one stupid puck from Kendall, and now all of a sudden he was _good?_ That was stupid. Kendall opened his mouth to tell James exactly that, but the two boys were interrupted by a couple of big kids who had stormed into the locker room.

They looked at each other with wide eyes. "It's the big kids, Kendall…" James breathed out. Kendall nodded, amazed. The big kids were _awesome_ at hockey. They were, like, the champions of hockey in the whole _world._

"You see that little Mexican boy? He's _such_ a retard." One of the big boys said.

The others all laughed. Kendall and James looked at each other again. Were they talking about… Carlos?

Before they could answer their own silent question, the big boys had left again. James looked at Kendall. "What... what's a 'retard'?" He asked.

Kendall shrugged. "I don't know. It must mean he's annoying or something. Cuz he is." He pointed out, like it was the most obvious fact out there.

"Maybe we can ask mommy." James suggested. The two boys ran out to Ashley Diamond, since it was her turn to carpool.

"How was practice, boys?"

Kendall shrugged. "Okay." He would've said it sucked, and that Carlos was stupid, like he always did… but he was curious about the new word that had come out of the big kid's mouth.

"Mommy?" James asked nervously.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"What's a… retard?"

Ashley stopped what she was doing. "Where did you hear that?" She asked cautiously.

"A big kid said it when they were talking to each other." Kendall piped up.

Ashley sighed. "Boys, don't listen to those big boys… they're words aren't nice. Retard means someone who's really stupid. But I don't want you boys using that word, alright?" She warned them.

James nodded, since it was his mother, but Kendall didn't. But Ashley didn't wait for their agreement; she started the car and started driving home.

Retard. Those boys were right. That was _exactly_ what Carlos was.

_line line line_

"Alright, it's recess time! Everyone follow me outside! Single file line please!" Everyone cheered at their teacher's words. Kendall grinned at James.

He _loved_ recess.

"Let's go, James! I'll race you to the swings!" Kendall shouted, about to run off.

"But we have to wait until the teacher says so." James warned Kendall. "Or else she'll give us a strike. And when we get three strikes, we don't get recess." James said this like it was going to be the end of the world.

"Fine." Kendall grumbled, stopping and following the stupid single-file line. James loved recess too, and he would never risk anything in fear of getting strikes and losing recess. Even if it was only one recess that he missed.

When the teacher told them to go and play, James and Kendall ran off. Kendall willed his legs to go faster. He won.

James had always been a little chubbier than he was, even though he was taller. "Ha! I win!" Kendall bragged. James pouted.

"Whatever. You cheated!" James argued.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

_"Did too!"_

_ "Did not!"_

Carlos watched James and Kendall argue back and forth, back and forth. He listened as his swing went back and forth, back and forth. _Squeak, squawk, squeak… squawk…_

He didn't really like recess. All the other kids thought it was fun, since they had other kids to play with them.

But Carlos had no one. No one wanted to play with him, so he always sat alone and swung on the swings. And when the swings were taken, he sat under the shade of a tree, playing with his shoes.

And it got kind of boring with no one to talk to. _Really _boring.

His Mami had told him to be nice to all the kids. And he had. He said hi to each and every one of them each and every day. He shared his toys and smiled at people. His Mami told him smiling always worked.

But for him, it didn't. He smiled and smiled and was nice to people, but the kids didn't want to play with him. No one even approached him.

He tried being friends with Kendall and James, but they didn't seem to like him. He had knocked James down, and even though it was an accident, Kendall still pushed him over.

And after hockey yesterday, when he'd stolen the puck from Kendall, Kendall had gotten all mad at him. _And_ called him a cheater. But Carlos pretended not to hear that, though.

He thought maybe… maybe if he showed Kendall how awesome he was at hockey, Kendall would like him more. Kendall seemed to love hockey so much… And Carlos wanted Kendall to like him.

If Kendall liked him, then James would like him too. If Kendall _and_ James liked him, he would finally have his first friends.

But it had only made Kendall angrier, and now he thought he was going to cry because-

"Hey Carlos! Throw me the ball!" Carlos looked up. It was James. James was nicer than Kendall, but he didn't like Carlos either. Carlos could tell; when he talked to James, James would always look like he didn't want to be talking to Carlos.

James had Kendall. And he played with all the boys at recess. They played soccer, and Carlos could only watch from the sidelines. No one invited him to play, and he didn't want to make them mad if he just joined without asking.

Carlos stood up and tossed the ball to James. He wasn't good at throwing. Or catching. But James didn't say anything about his weak throw, just "thanks."

Carlos liked James.

The only thing was, James didn't like him back.

Carlos sighed to himself, his eyes tearing up. He watched as James looked at Kendall and they both laughed.

He just wished he had a friend.

**A/N- Aw, poor Carlos… We'll see more of him and Kendall and James next chapter... so look forward to that. ;)**

**Who's excited for the Swindle movie on Saturday? Am I the only one who knows about it? I LOVED the book… so yeah. I'm so ready for the movie.**

**Ugh, school starts tomorrow. I'll need some good luck, folks.**

**Tell me what you thought of this chapter!**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


	7. The Best

_**Chapter 6**_

"James! Kendall! It's time to go!" Kendall looked at James, and they shared excited glances.

Tonight was their first hockey game. They were playing against another school, and they were going to _win._

"Race you upstairs!" James shouted. Kendall protested, running after him. They huffed and puffed as they climbed the long staircase leading upstairs from the basement. James got there first, panting.

"You started before me! No fair!" Kendall whined, pouting. James snickered.

"Too bad for you. I won! I won!" He shouted triumphantly.

"Cheater!" Kendall yelled back.

"Boys, stop bickering and let's get going!" Mrs. Knight shouted. Kendall wrinkled up his face.

"What's bickering?" He asked curiously.

Mrs. Knight laughed. "I forget you boys are only 5. Bickering means fighting and arguing like you guys were just doing." She explained, grabbing the boys' bags and ushering them into the car.

"Yeah, but that's cuz James cheated!" Kendall argued.

"No! I won fair and rectangle!" James retorted.

"Don't you mean fair and square? Cheater."

"Whatever. I hate shapes anyway, so who cares? And I'm not cheating! You are!"

"Boys!" Mrs. Knight raised her voice. The two boys stared up at her with wide eyes. 'That's called bickering. Now stop it, my head is hurting."

Kendall stuck his tongue out at James, who looked away. Mrs. Knight sighed and shook her head to herself. Boys will be boys.

She stuck the boys' bags in the trunk and buckled them up. "Boys, make room for Carlos, okay? We're going to pick him up along the way."

Kendall and James looked at each other. Kendall smooched into the middle seat, leaving as much space between himself and where Carlos would be sitting as possible.

"Mommy! Why can't he go by himself?" Kendall whined.

Mrs. Knight started the car. "Boys, Carlos is nice. Just be nice to him, and you guys can be best friend!"

Kendall pouted. "That's not gonna happen, Mommy! Carlos is weird so he can't be our friend."

Mrs. Knight sighed. Kendall really needed to learn to open up to other people. "James, sweetie, how about you? Don't you think Carlos is nice?"

James shrugged, looking away from Kendall's intense stare. "I guess… but I don't really like him that much." He admitted shyly.

When they went to pick Carlos up, Mrs. Knight was outside talking with Mrs. Garcia. Kendall and James both jumped a little when Carlos came jumping in. He bounced up and down, grinning at them.

"I can't beweeve it's ar firsht hockey game!" He said excitedly. "Arnch you guys ecshited?" He asked them, grinning.

Kendall glared at Carlos. "Yeah. Kind of. But you're a meanie so I won't pass you the puck." He said stubbornly.

Carlos stared at him, his brown eyes sad. "I'm notta meanie!"

"Yeah you are! And you're a baby!" Kendall retorted.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Carlos's eyes filled with tears, and in a moment he was crying like a little baby. "See? You _are_ a baby! Only babies cry!" Kendall said proudly.

"Kendall Donald! What did you do this time?" Mrs. Knight sighed, walking over to Carlos and taking him into her arms. "Sweetie, what's the matter? Don't cry, buddy, come on."

Carlos sniffled and pointed at Kendall. "H-He called me a meanie even dogh I'm not!" He whimpered.

Mrs. Knight glared at Kendall. "Kendall, honey, you know you can't call people bad words. That's mean. Apologize to Carlos."

Kendall huffed out his breath angrily. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"Sorry who?"

"Sorry Carlos."

"Why?"

Kendall crossed his arms across his chest. "For calling you a baby." He muttered reluctantly.

Mrs. Knight rubbed a hand across her face wearily. "Alright boys, now no more crying or mean words for the rest of the ride, alright?"

"Fine."

Mrs. Knight drove to the ice rink in silence.

Kendall sighed to himself.

He still hated Carlos.

_line line line_

Carlos tugged uncomfortably on his too-big hockey jersey. He was number 13, since that was the last number left over. The kids on his team never let him pick which number to be.

He grabbed his too-long hockey stick, and put on his too-big hockey skates. Everything about hockey was too big for him, since all the equipment had only one size. And Carlos was the smallest kid on the team, so naturally, nothing fit on him.

"Carlos, you ready?" Carlos looked up and saw his coach. He was really nice; he was probably the only nice person on the hockey team. Even though he wasn't really on the team. Coach never played, just sat there and yelled at them.

But he was nice. "Yeah, can you tie my shkates, pwease?" Carlos asked politely. His Mami had always told him to say please and thank you when talking to people. Especially adults.

"Oh, of course, buddy." He tied the skates for Carlos, and Carlos said thank you.

Then he was left all alone, and he resorted to walking around the locker room, listening to other kids having fun and laughing.

He looked around for Kendall and James, since Kendall's mommy had drove him here. His Mami had told him to make friends with Kendall and James. And Carlos tried, he really did, but maybe Kendall just didn't want to be his friend.

But maybe James would. James was nicer than Kendall, and James didn't yell at him and get mad at him like Kendall did.

He suddenly yelped when he tripped over someone's skate on the ground. "Ow!" He cried, hitting the floor with a thump.

"Are you okay?" Carlos pulled himself off the floor and looked towards the voice. Strange enough, it was James.

"I fink I gotta boo-boo, James." Carlos got out pitifully. James nodded and walked out of the locker room. There was no one left except for Carlos, and Carlos thought that James had walked away from him.

Isn't that what everyone did? Every single kid in Carlos's grade walked away from him when he needed help with his homework or his coloring, and when he asked them to play with him.

But then James came back with a band aid. "Here. I'll help ya put it on." He offered shyly.

Carlos grinned. He stuck out his knee and James plopped the band aid right onto the scrape. "Fankyew, James." Carlos said, and James helped him stand back up.

"You're welcome. Come on, da game's gonna start!" James told Carlos enthusiastically. Carlos grinned and wobbled out of the locker room after James.

He liked James.

_line line line_

Kendall was going to score. He was skating fast, and he could feel the other kids running to catch him and steal the puck from him. He willed himself to go faster, until he was right in front of the goal.

He aimed for the goal, and hit the puck as hard as he could.

He heard a loud whistle, and people cheering. He opened the eyes he had scrunched shut in nervousness.

He had scored.

"Good job, Kendall!" James called out. Kendall beamed.

The coach called the boys in for a meeting. "Boys, awesome job! Good job Kendall, you scored our first goal!" He talked about how it wasn't about winning, but it was about having fun and playing fair.

But Kendall didn't care. He wanted to win and he was going to win.

The rest of the game went great. The last minute, the score was tied 3-3. And the other team had to puck.

Kendall thought it was all over, that the other team was going to score, cuz they always did, and then they were going to lose.

But then the same thing that happened to Kendall happened to the biggest guy on the other team. He was so big he was bigger than James. And James was bigger than Kendall.

So yeah, the boy was huge.

Carlos skated up to the guy when he was about to shoot, and stole the puck from him without a second glance. The guy didn't even notice his puck wasn't there in front of him anymore for a long time.

And of course, no one else did, either, so Carlos got to the other side of the rink without any competition. And of course, the goalie wasn't prepared, so Carlos shot the puck straight into the net.

And then the buzzer sounded. It hit Kendall a second later.

They had won. He found James and they high-fived each other. They were both grinning from ear to ear.

They had won their first hockey game.

He almost didn't even care that it was Carlos who had won the game for him. Until he saw all the kids high-fiving him and telling him he was _so good._

Then Kendall felt jealous. _He _was supposed to be the best hockey player in the world. Not tiny, annoying Carlos.

And then when he looked again, he saw James there high-fiving Carlos too. James, his bestest best friend.

Throughout his short 5 years of life, Kendall could only remember 2 times when he had cried. Once when he fell off his bike and his knee started squirting blood, and another time when his daddy died.

But he felt tears springing into his eyes when he saw his best friend being best friends with _Carlos._ James had betrayed him, even though Kendall didn't know how to form that thought in his head at the time.

He just knew that James liked Carlos better than Kendall now, and so did everyone else.

Kendall would never be as awesome as his daddy. His daddy wouldn't be proud of him anymore.

At that thought, the blonde-haired boy ran off of the ice and into the boy's locker room. He felt the unfamiliar feeling of tears rushing down his face.

He didn't know how long it was until he heard someone coming in. He wanted to stop crying, he didn't want people thinking he was a baby or anything, but he couldn't. He just sat in the corner, sobbing and crying.

"Kendo? Are you okay?" Kendall thought it was James, but the boy who stood in front of him was way shorter.

"Whadya want, Carlos?" Kendall asked quietly through his sniffles. Carlos looked at Kendall with his big brown eyes and sat down next to him.

"W-why are you cwying?" He asked innocently.

Kendall wiped his eyes furiously. "Why would I tell you?" He tried to sound mean, but his voice was too rough and too raw from crying.

"It's allwight ta cwy. I don't fink yur a baby." Carlos admitted. Kendall just looked away. How could he not think Kendall was a baby? Every time Carlos had cried, Kendall had called _him_ a baby.

"B-But… if you cry you're a baby." Kendall got out, letting out a small sob.

Carlos shook his head. "No, yur notta baby just cuz you cwy. Mami shez dat even bwave people cwy."

Kendall sniffled. "It's just… J-James isn't my friend anymore," Kendall cried. He didn't know why he was talking to Carlos, his archenemy, but he just felt like he could trust him.

Carlos wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. "James is still yur fwiend. Yur his besht fwiend."

Kendall shook his head, the tears coming down all over again. "No… he high-fived you and now he likes you better than me!" He sobbed.

Carlos widened his eyes. "N-no he does-shent. He's shtill yur besht fwiend."

"Even if he is, I didn't win da game and now my daddy doesn't love me anymore." Kendall admitted.

Carlos breathed in sharply. "Kendo, yur daddy still wuvs yew. You scored da fersht goal, so yur daddy has ta wuv yew."

Kendall shook his head. "B-but I was supposed ta be da best! And now you are and not me."

"I'm not da best. I'm just good at stee-win da puck from people. Yew can skate fashter dan me and yur stwonger dan me. So yur da best." Carlos said.

Kendall finally met his eyes. "R-really? I'm da best?"

Carlos nodded, grinning. "Yeah. Weally."

Kendall calmed down a little, and finally, when he was done crying and just letting out the occasional sniffle, he stood up with Carlos. "I don't have a daddy anymore." He said.

"Why not?" Carlos asked curiously.

"He-he died in a airplane crash." Kendall said. He'd never told anyone this before. Not even James. But James knew because his mommy had told him.

Carlos gulped. "O-oh… I-I'm sowwy. You can share my Papi, dough. He's weally nice."

Kendall smiled. "Thanks, Carlos. You know, you're not that bad."

Carlos laughed at that. Then he looked down at this skates shyly, digging the points of his right blade into the ground nervously. "Do… do you wanna be my fwiend?" He asked softly.

Kendall didn't know what to say. No one had ever asked him that before other than James. But James was different. Kendall had liked James from the very start.

But maybe Carlos wasn't that annoying. When Carlos talked, Kendall felt like he could tell him anything. Maybe Carlos was okay.

Maybe Carlos was awesome.

So Kendall nodded. "Yeah. That would be cool. We could all be friends, me and you and James."

Carlos grinned at that. Kendall had never seen him so happy.

And for the first time, Kendall wanted him to stay that way.

**A/N- Awwwwwwww… wasn't that cute? And you've gotta understand James and Kendall are only 5, and Carlos is only 4, so don't imagine this as intense as it needs to be. ;)**

**Anyways, really sorry for the long wait. I started this last week, but just didn't know how to finish it.**

**Well, that's all for now. See ya'll later! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


	8. Transformers

_**Chapter 8**_

"Hey, James! Let's go play Transformers!" Kendall cried, dragging James into his huge basement. James giggled, running along on his chubby legs.

"C-Can I pway wif dem**, **Mami?" Carlos asked shyly. The boys' three moms were meeting together at the Diamonds' house for the start of the summer. Kindergarten had gone great for all three boys, and now it was summer.

"Yeah, go ahead, sweetie." Carlos's mother said gently. Carlos gulped and wobbled after them excitedly.

"Kindo!" Carlos called loudly. "Can I pway wif yew guys?" He asked when he finally climbed down the stairs. Kendall and James looked up.

Even though Kendall didn't absolutely despise Carlos now, he still would rather play with James than tiny baby Carlos. But maybe it was okay for today. "I guess. We're doing Transformers. I'm the blue one, James is the purple one. Which one do you wanna be?"

Carlos shrugged a little. "Um… B-but my favuwit cuwor is purple too." He admitted quietly.

Kendall shrugged back. "Well, James already got the purple one so you gotta pick another one." He pointed out.

James handed the purple Transformer to Carlos. "It's okay, you can use my today if you wanna." Carlos took it gratefully.

Kendall frowned. "James! You're _always _the purple one! It's not cool if Carlos is the purple one instead of you!" He complained.

"No, it's okay. I'll just be the red one. That's my second color." James said nonchalantly. But Kendall wouldn't have any of it.

"No." He walked over to Carlos and grabbed the toy out of his hand. "That's yours. So _he-" _Kendall pointed at Carlos angrily. "-can't have it." He finished.

Carlos sniffled a little but didn't cry. James took the toy from Kendall and gave it back to Carlos. "It's ok, Kendall! He's only here today! You come every day!" He pointed out.

Kendall sighed. "Fine." He huffed out, turning his back on Carlos. "But I'm not talking to him."

James looked at Carlos and shrugged. "Come on, Carlos, you can sit next ta me." He offered. Carlos smiled and obeyed.

The three boys played for a while, and soon, Kendall forgot about not talking to Carlos and the three were laughing like crazy. Then it was lunch. The three boys put their toys away just like their mommies told them to.

"I'll race you to the top! Whoever touches their mommy first wins!" Kendall challenged. James grinned in agreement.

Carlos just shrugged, though. "I-I can't wun dat fasht." He said.

Kendall ignored him. "Ready, set… GO!" He sprinted up the stairs, and James followed him. On the way up Kendall flicked the light switch off, thinking Carlos had been following them, and kept on running.

Carlos looked around the dark room. He could hear the patter of Kendall and James's feet in the floor above him. There was nothing he could see except for the dark until he saw a… was that ghost?

"Mami!" Carlos wailed loudly, screaming and bumping into the wall. He touched something soft, and screamed louder. Tears sprang into his eyes, and his heart pumped faster with fear.

Suddenly, there was light. "Carlos? What's wrong, sweetie pie?" It was his Mami. Carlos curled up on the floor, crying. His mommy went down and picked him up.

"D-deres a ghosht over dere!" He whimpered, burying his face into his mother's shoulder.

Mrs. Garcia sighed. "Sweetie, it's okay. There's nothing there. Here, let's get you upstairs and you can eat ice cream, alright?" Carlos sniffled, his eyes lighting up.

"Da cocwit kind?" He asked excitedly. Mrs. Garcia laughed and nodded, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately.

Upstairs, Kendall and James were arguing about who actually won the race. "I touched my mommy first!" Kendall cried stubbornly.

"No! Well… your mommy was nearer!" James argued.

Mrs. Knight and Mrs. Diamond sighed. "Boys, time to eat." The two boys stuck their tongues out at each other and sat down.

"Boys, why didn't Carlos come with you?" Jennifer began, seeing Carlos's tear-streaked face. Why couldn't those boys just get along with him?

James glanced at Carlos worriedly. "Was he crying, mommy?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, sweetie, you boys closed the light and he was scared." Mrs. Diamond explained patiently.

James jumped out of his seat and approached Carlos, who was still sniffling and hugging onto his mother's legs. "I'm sorry, Carlos. I didn't mean ta scare you."

Carlos sniffled and looked up at the taller boy. "D-dat's all-wight. Fanks for giving me da purple Twansfurmer."

James grinned. "You're welcome. Come on, sit next to me!" He gestured to the empty seat next to him. Carlos looked up at his Mami, who gave him an encouraging push. Carlos hesitatingly sat down next to James.

Kendall watched, his eyes narrowed. He was almost 6 now, and he knew that Carlos wasn't supposed to be him and James's friend. He was only 4, which meant he was still a baby.

And now Carlos was stealing James away from Kendall. Kendall was supposed to be James's best friend. James had told him so that day his daddy had died. But now stupid baby Carlos was there to steal James away. Again.

Kendall looked away. He wanted to cry so badly, but he wasn't going to. He was a big boy. And if Carlos wanted to be stupid, then so be it.

Kendall was going to get him back.

_line line line_

Kendall didn't know how to get Carlos back. It had been three days since the whole purple Transformers things, and James still wasn't Kendall's best friend. He would always hang out with Carlos.

Kendall glared at James when he suggested, once again, that they should ask Carlos to join their game of tag during recess.

"James! Why do always have to ask him? We're best friends, not him!" Kendall complained. James glanced back at Carlos, who was swinging by himself on the swing, like he always did until James called him over.

"He's lonely, Kendall. He doesn't have any friends… that's sad." James said, genuinely meaning that he felt bad for him.

Kendall laughed. "Sad? That means no one likes him, so you shouldn't either." He grumbled stubbornly.

James looked at Kendall, wide-eyes. "Why are you so mean to Carlos? I think he's nice, and he's not a meanie like you!" Without a second glance back, James stomped on over to where Carlos was.

He said something to the younger boy, and Carlos smiled. He jumped off the swing and followed James on his short legs.

Kendall stood there in shock… Did James really just leave him? For Carlos?

Was it funny how half of the times Kendall had cried that school year was because of James?

Kendall sniffled and dragged his sleeve across his eyes, running away and hiding under one of the slides. He wasn't a meanie… right? He was nice. He was nice to James and his mommy and his daddy when he was still alive…

He wished his daddy were still here. His daddy loved him… His daddy would never leave him for someone else.

But by dying, didn't his daddy leave him?

Kendall tried to silence his sobs, but he couldn't. They came out loudly, and Kendall didn't even notice when someone knelt down beside him.

"K-Kendall? Why are you crying?" Kendall looked through his tears and saw the cause of all his problems. James. Why was James still talking to him? Didn't James hate him now?

"L-leave me alone! You're not my friend anymore!" Kendall cried, sniffling loudly. James widened his eyes.

"No, I'm still yur best friend! I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean ta call ya a meanie. I just wish you can play with Carlos, too. We can be three best friends instead of two." He suggested.

The idea had never occurred to Kendall before. _Two_ best friends instead of only one? Was that even possible?

But James apparently thought it was, so Kendall relented. "O-Okay. I guess." He stood up, wiping the woodchips off of his pants. James grinned at him, gaps in his teeth making him look funny.

Kendall felt his own teeth. "Why won't my teeth fall like yours?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe when you're bigger like me." He suggested innocently.

"Hey! I'm bigger than you!" Kendall argued.

"No! I am!"

"No!"

"Fine, then let's have Carlos see then!" James argued stubbornly. "Carlos!"

The smaller boy looked up at them and smiled. "H-Hi, Kindo!" He squeaked excitedly.

Kendall just stared back. "Who do you think is taller, Carlos? Me or Kendall?" James asked.

Carlos looked at them. "James is toller, but oonwy a widdle." He finally decided. James grinned at Kendall toothily.

"Ha! See? I'm taller and not you!"

Kendall huffed. "I don't care."

He reached up to feel his teeth again, but this time, he felt something different. One of his teeths were moving.

"Hey! I think my teeth's going to fall out!" Kendall said excitedly. James looked into his mouth curiously.

"Yeah! It's wiggly and stuff! That means yur going to lose it and then the fairy can give you money!" James told him.

"Money?"

James nodded eagerly. "Yeah, da Tooth Fairy comes and puts money under yur pillow if you put yur tooth under before you sleep." James explained seriously.

"That's cool!" Kendall agreed. "I'm gonna do that when it falls out!" He decided.

"You wanna play on the swings?" James asked Carlos. Carlos grinned and nodded. Kendall felt the familiar feeling of jealousy brewing up inside of him.

But then Carlos turned to him and grinned. "Are yew goin'a pway wif us tew?" He asked innocently.

Kendall looked back at him. "Okay. I'll race you there!"

He didn't know why, but he let Carlos win and he didn't even complain.

**A/N- Hello people! I'm sorry for the slow update… I need to find a plot point in this story… I feel like it's just a bunch of cuteness. I'm not sure when Logie's gonna come, cuz I'm not sure when they're going to get into 3****rd**** grade.**

**Anyways, I really have nothing to say. Did you hear about Carlos's new movie project or whatever it was? AWESOME! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle**


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